As traditional conferences begin league play — the Northeast Ohio Conference and Patriot Athletic Conference are not traditional — we go into Week 4 with another Rick-o-chet around the prep gridiron scene:
Hundreds of annoying bees were flying everywhere at the Wadsworth-Medina game last week. I personally put four of them out of their misery in the second quarter alone. …
When Wadsworth jumped ahead early, I was all set to start my column like this: “It was a bad night to be a bee. And a Bee.†A thrilling 30-24 overtime game put the kibosh on that, thank goodness. …
Sorry, but I have this thought in my head and there’s only one way to get it out: To bee or not to Bee, that is the question. …
Cloverleaf is better this season, but it’s important to note that the three schools the Colts have beaten are a combined 0-9. Tonight’s opponent, Copley, is also 0-3, so let’s not make playoff reservations just yet, OK? …
Suburban League coaches like to call it balance. I say the league is as bad as it’s been in at least 10 years. …
The PAC, on the other hand, is pretty bad every year. …
Highland, which will probably finish sixth or seventh in the SL, is better than nine of the PAC’s 10 teams. …
My early vote for best kicker in the county goes to Highland’s Eric Duale. Medina’s Corey Morse, who doesn’t rely on fortuitous 20-yard rolls to average almost 40 yards, gets the nod at punter. …
Brunswick quarterback Sean Bedevelsky is 40-of-51 passing for 646 yards and eight touchdowns. More impressive, the senior has put those numbers up while basically playing in just six quarters. …
Speaking of Bedevelsky, how will his name be pronounced tonight by likable WEOL-AM 830 announcer Zoltan Zoltai? Last year he was Bed-vuh-lesky, despite numerous attempts by Gazette reporters to correct the error. …
For the record, it’s Bedda-velsky. …
While we’re on names, you would not believe how many e-mails I get that refer to me as Rick Nolan. …
Then again, anyone who has played basketball with me will tell you there’s no “D†in my game, so there’s no sense putting one in my name. …
My rankings of the seven county teams: 1) Brunswick; 2) Wadsworth, 3) Medina, 4) Cloverleaf, 5) Highland, 6) Black River, 7) Buckeye. …
Imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, but a number of readers have told me young protégé Albert Grindle needs to quit copying my Rick-o-chet format and come up with his own shtick. …
Personally, I don’t have a problem with it — as long as he keeps those hefty royalty checks coming. ….
OK, I’m heading to Nordonia High to watch Bed-vuh-lesky. See ya next week.
